Finally: Pitt, Aniston to Wed

For the cast of “Friends,” it’s a chance to finally meet Brad Pitt. For the rest of us, it’s a chance to get a glimpse of the biggest Hollywood wedding of this young century.

In case you haven’t heard, Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are tying the knot today, in a seaside ceremony in tony Malibu. According to the best rumors out there, the vows will be exchanged at 6 p.m. PDT and, as is de rigeur with A list weddings, the couple have done everything in their considerable power to make sure that the media stays as far away as possible.

TV news helicopters on Friday were already circling the little strip of beach where a big tent has been erected to accommodate the expected 200-plus guests at the wedding reception. But tonight those helicopters might have to stay on the ground — word has it that Pitt’s taken legal and other precautions to ensure that the whirlybirds stay away, including a planned fireworks display that’ll explode in the sky once the “I do’s” are finished.

After weeks of rumors by gossip columnists and denials by publicists, the low-key Pitt-Aniston ceremony has become the biggest celebrity wedding Los Angeles has seen in some time.

Here are a few tidbits that have been circulating in recent days, via local and national news reports:

More than $100,000 is being spent on entertainment for the wedding.

The couple shelled out $80,000 to fly guests in for the nuptials.

Pitt’s publicist, Cindy Guagenti, says 200 people are invited to the ceremony.

The wedding was delayed at least one week so that Lisa Kudrow, who was out of the country, could attend.

The 31-year-old bride will wear a wedding gown designed by Lawrence Steele, the same designer who crafted her black, plunging-neckline Oscar ensemble this year.

Invitations were sent last week, but the guests weren’t supposed to know the exact address of the wedding until today. That secret has apparently been blown wide open, however, since somebody with a camera discovered the big white tent where the reception is apparently going to be held (it’s right next to an outdoor garden area, where the wedding itself is apparently planned). Gwyneth Paltrow As everyone knows, Pitt, 36, and Aniston have been dating for about three years. Pitt was previously engaged to Gwyneth Paltrow, and he had a thing with Juliette Lewis. Aniston was in a three-year relationship with actor Tate Donovan.